What Apps Does This Pastor Use?

I like technology. 2 years ago I got my first iPhone and 1 year ago I got my iPad, my budget means I’m not always out front, but I eventually get there. These are cool toys, but they are also effective tools. They help me stay on track in several areas. I use my iPad a lot. I preach from it. I’ve even started taking text messages during the sermon, so I can take a few minutes and answer them at the end of the message, or I answer them on my blog. I think technology has the potential to help us connect on new levels.

I’ve had several pastors ask if I really use these things on a regular basis. I do. So, I thought I would share some basic apps I use either daily or weekly.

Daily:

MapMyWalk – this little app helps me keep my daily walk commitment. It gives me a gps readout of where I walked and how fast. At the end of the week it sends me an email about my totals for the week.

OliveTree – this is a very readable Bible app. It has a nice look to it. It is easy to read and I like the reading plans it offers. So, this is the one I use for devotional reading.

Evernote – this has become my life-line. It is an awesome filing cabinet where you embed information into notes and notes are put into notebooks. These, including pictures of receipts, are all searchable. I put everything in Evernote. I store my sermons there, while working on them. This makes them available on my ipad and my desktops (home and office). I put in meeting notes and agendas. I have an encrypted note that holds all my usernames and passwords. I also paste menu pdfs from my favorite restaurants’ websites. This makes it easy to make healthy choices while I’m sitting at the table. I do pay for the upgrade because I like attaching word docs to notes.

Calengoo (for Ipad) – this is an app that syncs my google calendar with my iPad. It is better than the native calendar because it also syncs tasks from the google calendar.

HootSuite – this is the way I keep track of my Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In accounts. It is fast and easy to see what’s going on in the world around me. And when I post, I go to one place!

WordPress – this is for my blog. I can quickly check stats. I can reply to comments. I can post from any where and on any device.

Kindle – I do almost all my “book” reading with ebooks. I like Kindle. I haven’t used many others, but what I like most about Kindle is that I can recover my notes and highlights. I read a book. I make notes and highlights as I’m reading. I can then go to Amazon.com and find the books I’ve read. There I can open up my notes and I find everything I’ve noted or highlighted on one page in front of me. Then I copy and paste it into an evernote note and it becomes a handy discussion sheet or resource for further study.

Okay… Words with Friends – I like Words with Friends and always have 5 or 6 games going. This just gives me 5 minute breaks throughout the day that help me get my mind off work and on a little fun.

Weekly (at least):

Logos – I do have a logos account and use it more and more for sermon study. After some time, I’m getting used to some of the neat features. The logos app allows me to access my library wherever I am (as long as there is wifi).

GoodReader – This is an app that is a good pdf reader. I use this for preaching. I write and format my preaching notes on a Word doc. I then put it into 16pt. font; save it as a pdf and transfer it to my iPad. This makes each page readable on a whole page view. And with GoodReader you can add mark-ups to your pdf. So, once it’s on my iPad I can underline, highlight or add a word or phrase. This helps me make certain things stand out, so I don’t miss it when I’m preaching.

If you’ve been wondering what you can do with technology to improve your ministry, try some of the above! What have you used effectively? I’m always looking for new ideas.